Martin’s reopens Saturday

By Janet Jacobs

March 01, 2009 09:05 pm

— Martin’s Music Hall, for years an entertainment staple downtown, is reopening Saturday after months of being dark with the Big C Jamboree.
The band has been playing in this area of Texas for about six years, and has done numerous shows in Corsicana, including two of the Patsy Cline shows with Zanada Tally, who is a regular in the band. For the last two years, the Jamboree has been playing at the Ennis Opry on Lake Bardwell, but is ready to make the move to Corsicana, said Ron Sikes, bandmember.
“A lot of people around here know us and hopefully we can get it going in this area,” he said. “We’ve had lots of interest so far.”
The Jamboree plays country and western with a dash of gospel thrown in for good measure.
The show starts at 7 p.m. at Martin’s Music Hall, 201 S. Beaton. Admission is $10 per person.
In addition to the Big C Jamboree regulars, who are Chuck Wiginton, Joe Honea, Zanada Tally, Jody Thomas, Ron Sikes and Bobby Fluker as emcee, this Saturday’s show will also include special guests Billy Roy Mitcham, Russell Bailey, Stan Lawhon, Fred Hayes, and B.G. Williams.
In April, the Jamboree will move its performance nights to the second Saturday of each month at Martin’s, Sikes said.
The reopening of Martin’s Music Hall is also a new start for owner Sam Martin. The music hall was started by Martin and his wife, Virginia, who was a frequent performer of gospel. Now, the couple has divorced and Sam is eager to try something new, maybe even a little blues, rock and roll, or bluegrass.
“We want to get as many acts as we can, not just here, but in downtown,” Martin said. “If anything’s going to bring people downtown, it’s going to be something in the evenings.”
Martin will be manning the snack bar, offering hot food as well as snacks. “It’ll be good food people can eat and afford in these hard economic times,” he said.
Just as Virginia’s goal was to create a home for gospel singers, Sam wants to create a home for musicians of all stripes, including rock and rollers who currently have to drive to Dallas to perform.
“Everyone’s out kind of scrounging on their own,” Martin said. “We’d like to make downtown Corsicana a place to do it.”
—————
Click here to e-mail Janet Jacobs.
Click here to Soundoff on this story.